RI-Taiwan trade could reach $4b this year
RI-Taiwan trade could reach $4b this year
JAKARTA (JP): Trade between Taiwan and Indonesia is set to
exceed US$4 billion this year, says Lu Pao-sun, head of the
Taipei Economic and Trade Office here.
On the eve of Taiwan's Double-Ten (National Day) celebrations
today, Lu said that his country was Indonesia's sixth-largest
trading partner last year with two-way trade amounting to $3.5
billion.
He added that the balance of trade between the two countries
was in Indonesia's favor.
According to Lu's estimates, this year's two-way trade between
the two countries will reach more than $4 billion.
As of July, Taiwan was Indonesia's fifth-largest foreign
investor, with 371 projects worth of $8.056 billion, Lu added in
referring to another aspect of the bilateral economic ties.
He estimated that Indonesia received more than half a million
Taiwanese visitors in 1994, up more than 40 percent from the
previous year.
Lu said that Taiwan and Indonesia had made great strides in
developing mutually-beneficial relations. He cited the fact that,
in March, Taiwan's China Airlines, in cooperation with Garuda,
began an all-cargo non-stop once-a-week service between Taipei
and Jakarta.
He added that, in June, Taiwan's EVA Airways launched its
first Taipei-Kaohsiung-Surabaya flight, with a Boeing 767
carrying 266 passengers.
Eva now has three flights per week. Putting together the
services now provided by Garuda, Sempati, EVA Air and China
Airlines, there are 23 Jakarta-Taipei and Taipei-Jakarta flights,
four Denpasar-Taipei and Taipei-Denpasar flights and two
Denpasar-Kaohsiung and Kaohsiung-Denpasar flights each week.
Last Thursday, another privately-run airline company in
Taiwan, TransAsia Airways, launched a commercial service between
Taipei and Surabaya three times a week; on Tuesdays, Thursdays
and Saturdays.
TransAsia will serve the route with a 162-seat Airbus A320.
"More flights signify more contacts and greater business
opportunities. We have reasons to believe the constructive
partnership between the two countries shall become much more
comprehensive in the years to come," he said.
Asked about the performance of Taiwan's economy, Lu said that
the country's foreign trade reached $178.5 billion last year,
making it the world's 14th-largest trading power.
"Our gross national product (GNP) of US$244 billion is the
19th-largest in the world and our per-capita GNP of US$11,604 is
the world's 25th-highest," he said.
Lu added that Taiwan's foreign exchange reserves of over $100
billion were second only to Japan.
Of the greatest significance, Lu said, is the fact that Taiwan
has grown from an agricultural exporting economy into a leading
producer of electronic, computer and other industrial goods. For
example, Taiwan is now the world's biggest producer of note-book
computers, he said.(vin)